Combat (Civ5)
Introduction Combat occurs between two political entities that are at war with each other. A civilization may be at war with another civ or with a city-state. s are always at war with all civilizations and city-states. They're just a pest to all order! There are four major forms of combat: melee, ranged, naval, and . The first three occur throughout most of the game, while air combat doesn't happen (naturally) until civilizations discover . Sub-articles * * * * * * Declaring War War against another civ may be declared in a couple of different ways, or you may find yourself on the receiving end of an enemy's own declaration. You (or they) may declare war through the diplomatic screen, or you can simply walk onto another civilization's territory, or attack one of their units - both will automatically result in war (look below). Regardless of how a war starts, all trade and diplomatic agreements with the other side are automatically cancelled upon entering war. Also, all allies of the sides automatically declare war on each other. Diplomatically Declaring War You may declare war on a civilization through the panel . You may declare war on a city-state by clicking on the city-state's city and picking "Declare War" from the pop-up. Attacking Another Unit You can simply order one of your units to attack another civ's units. If you're not currently at war with the civ you're attacking, a pop-up will appear asking if you want to declare war on that civ (or city-state); if you choose to do so, the attack occurs. If you decline, the attack is aborted. Entering a Civilization's Territory It is also an act of war to enter a civ's territory (unless doing so with a or ) if you don't have an "open borders" agreement with that civ. A pop-up will appear and ask you to confirm your move. Note that it isn't an act of war to cross a city-state's borders, so no pop-up will appear in that case. -'Note': When walking onto a City-state's territory, which is not your friend or ally, this won't trigger war immediately. Instead, it will reduce your influence until truly angering the city. If you stay enough turns in his territory, he'll declare war to you. Ending a War Wars can end automatically when one side has been destroyed because it has lost its last city. Or the combatants can agree to halt hostilities short of this unpleasant eventuality through diplomatic negotiations. You or your opponent may choose to initiate such discussions. See the section on for details. s cannot be negotiated with. You'll remain at war with them as long as they're around. Which Units Can Fight Any military unit may attack an enemy unit. units can initiate combat and defend against enemy attacks, though they are weaker than other units. Non-military units such as s, s, and great people may not initiate attacks. If attacked while on their own, s and s are captured (captured s turn into s) and great people and work boats are destroyed. A city may attack an enemy military unit that is within the city's Ranged Combat Range, and a unit may in turn attack an enemy city. For more information on particular military units and their abilities, check the List of Units. Unit Combat Statistics A military unit's combat abilities are determined by its combat statistics. There are four basic combat stats: hit points, combat strength, ranged combat strength, and range. Combat Strength All military units have this stat, and it may also be termed 'melee strength'. Melee units use their Combat strength when attacking or defending. Ranged units use their Combat strength when defending. Ranged Combat Strength Only units able to engage in "Ranged Combat" have this stat. It is the ranged unit's combat strength when it is attacking. Range The unit's "range" stat determines the distance at which a unit can launch a ranged attack. A range of "2" means that the target can be in an adjacent tile or one tile distant. A range of "1" would mean that the target had to be adjacent to the attacker. Check Ranged combat for more info about it. Hit Points A unit's health is measured in "Hit Points". When fully healthy, all combat units have 100 hit points. As it takes damage, it loses hit points. If a unit's hit points reach 0, it is destroyed. Also, when a unit is bellow full health, its Combat and Ranged strength both diminish accordingly, down to about 50% of their original values. Unit promotions and advancement All military units acquire combat experience, which may be spend for Promotions to enhance considerably the unit's fighting strength under certain circumstances. Check the Experience article for more information on Promotion mechanics. Furthermore, whenever your civilization advances its respective technology, you will receive the option to Upgrade, for a modest fee, your military units to more advanced, next-generation units. Upgraded units retain all their Promotions, including many Special abilities associated with Unique civilization units, which makes them considerably more useful than newly-trained units of the same type. Whenever possible, always upgrade your existing army, instead of making new units! Combat Bonuses Units receive a variety of benefits during combat, some from the unit's location, others from its defensive posture, and others from a variety of special circumstances. Some bonuses apply only to an attacking unit, some only to a defending unit, and some might apply to both. The most common bonuses come from the terrain the unit occupies, and whether the defending unit is "fortified." Check the Combat screen which pops up when you attempt an attack - it will display all attacking and defensive bonuses applicable. Terrain Bonuses Rough terrain ( , , or ) provides cover for units that occupy it and are attacked there - either in melee or by ranged attacks. Defending units make the best use of its features, while attacking units are forced to overcome it, and that makes a big difference. Marsh is NOT considered Rough terrain, despite presenting an obstacle to movement. Note that some classes of units don't benefit from terrain defense bonuses. Melee units attacking a tile on the other side of a river, or Embarked units attacking a land tile are penalized. This penalty may be overcome if a unit acquires a special promotion. Formation bonuses When melee units attack or defend in a line with other friendly units, they receive combat bonus. A defending unit, if it has another unit in a nearby tile, receives a morale bonus. Respectively, an attacking unit receives a Flanking bonus when there is another friendly unit in a tile bordering the target. Fortification Many units have the ability to "fortify." This means that the unit "digs in" and creates defensive works in its current location. This gives the unit certain defensive bonuses, making it much tougher to kill. However, fortifications are strictly defensive: if the unit moves or attacks, the fortifications are destroyed. While fortified, a unit will not perform any action, and will Heal damage. It will remain inactive until you manually activate it by clicking on the unit. Most melee and ranged units can fortify. Non-military, mounted, naval, armored, and air units cannot fortify. These latter units can "Sleep," which means that they will remain inactive until attacked or you manually activate them, but they do not receive the defensive bonus. Forts and citadels Once a civ has acquired the technology, s can construct "forts" in friendly or neutral territory. Forts provide a hefty defensive bonus (50%) to units occupying them, but don't help when they're attacking. Also, bear in mind that Forts can be occupied by the enemy, who will enjoy their benefits just as you did! The Citadel is a superFort, created by the special ability of a Great general. It will not only provide a 100% defensive bonus to the unit in it, but it will also damage all enemies that end their turn in its and the surrounding tiles for about 30% of their Health! Unlike the Fort, the Citadel belongs to the nation that currently occupies the territory it's been placed on, and it won't serve their enemies. In fact, upon placing the Citadel, all surrounding tiles are automatically conquered (regardless of whether or not they belong to someone), making it the only way of taking tiles of land AFTER they've been taken by another civilization (short of conquering their nearest city, of course). Additional bonuses A number of additional bonuses are available, either through unit special abilities, or via acquiring Promotions. These depend on experience earned either through training, or through battle experience, and may greatly affect a unit's effectiveness on the battlefield. Use every opportunity to promote your units and make them more dangerous in combat. Great Generals and Admirals s and s are "Great People" skilled in the art of warfare. They provide 20% combat bonuses - offensive and defensive bonuses both - to any friendly land or naval units within two tiles of their location. A Great General/Admiral itself is a non-combat unit, so it may be stacked with a combat unit for protection. If an enemy unit ever enters the tile containing a Great General/Admiral, they are immediately destroyed. Great Generals and Admirals are a great boon to your armies and fleets. Unlike other Great People, they are created when your respective land or naval units have been in battle for sufficient time. Some Social policies also grant free Generals/Admirals. Combat Damage Whenever an unit attacks, it does damage on the target's Health. Sometimes the attacking unit suffers as well (when it has entered Melee combat). A fully healthy unit has 100 "hit points" (HPs). When a unit takes damage during combat it loses HPs, and if it reaches 0 HPs, it is destroyed. The actual damage is determined by a complex calculation, comparing: * The applicable Combat and Ranged strengths of the attacking and defending unit. Whenever two Melee units enter combat, it is the two Combat strengths that are compared; when a Ranged unit attacks, its Ranged strength is compared to the target's Combat strength. * All bonuses involved, including terrain defense, formation bonuses and special bonuses, are then applied. * From the resulting difference, the HP deduction is calculated. If two melee units have entered combat, both suffer damage; if a Ranged unit has attacked, only the target suffers damage. Regardless of the final result, at least 1 HP is deducted from the target. A unit that has taken damage is weaker in combat than a healthy unit (its Combat and Ranged strength get lower). Wherever possible, it's a good idea to "rotate out" damaged units from battle to allow them to heal up before reentering the fray. This, of course, is not always possible. Healing Damage To heal damage, a unit must remain inactive for a turn. The amount of damage that a unit heals depends upon the unit's location. *In a City: A unit heals 25 HPs per turn. *In Friendly Territory (that includes friendly or allied city-states, and also civilizations with whom you have an Open Borders treaty): 20 HP per turn. *In Neutral or Enemy Territory: 10 HP per turn. Note that certain promotions will accelerate a unit's healing rate. Naval units cannot heal unless in Friendly territory, where they heal 20 HPs per turn. Earning the Supply promotion allows healing outside friendly territory. A unit may choose to instantly Heal for 50 HP whenever he gains enough Experience for a Promotion. If he's under 100 HP, you'll see in the list of available Promotions the 'Heal instantly' option. Of course, this will waste the opportunity of the unit gaining a permanent combat bonus. However, used under the right circumstances, this might mean the difference between winning and losing a battle! The "Fortify Until Healed" Button If a unit is damaged, the "Fortify Until Healed" button appears in its Action buttons. If you click on this button, the unit will fortify and remain in its present location until it is fully healed. See the section on Fortifications for details of the defensive benefits of fortification. Category:Game concepts (Civ5)